The second growth phase for any business is the Emerging phase. Emerging - when you further define your brand, customer base, marketing focus, staffing, and management culture.

Emerging: The time to take hold

Your business is now establishing itself - you're building revenue while keeping an extremely close watch on expenditures. The management team is finding a niche in the marketplace and being savvy about doing things right from the get-go.

Additional funding may be required for expansion and market penetration as the business begins to scale. This is when venture capital may come into play as a sound emerging business is one that is not destined to stay small but exhibit significant growth opportunity. This is when the decision is made on whether the business will remain small or warrants a significant investment in its potential to become a much larger enterprise.

It is the owners/initial investors that drive emerging businesses to the next level - Performing. Exhibiting operating cash flow growth is an essential mark that the business is now fully emerging and that management is right and ready to address the future.

Unlike the Start-Up phase, which is normally of a short duration, 6 to 18 months, the Emerging phase can take several years to develop. Obviously, the shorter the duration the better and it is not uncommon for businesses in the technology or healthcare sectors to move from Start-up to Emergingto Performing in short-order.